The Atlanta Hawks kicked off their 5 game road trip last night with a 97-92 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Joe Johnson scored a team high 28 points with 14 of those coming in the 4th quarter for Atlanta, now winners of 6 of their last 7 games. I’m very impressed with Josh Smith’s consistent play as of late he finished the night with 19 points, 13 rebounds, and a key 3 pointer that gave Atlanta the lead for good.

I’m going out on a limb with this one but after watching him for the past few weeks I’m convinced that J. Smoove will make this year’s All-Star team…

Last night also marked another solid performance from PG Jeff Teague he finished the night with 15 points and 5 assists including scoring nine consecutive points during Atlanta’s 11-0 run that opened up a 20-9 lead in the first quarter.

Hopefully Teague’s done enough to keep the starting job now that PG Kirk Hinrich set to make his return this week.

The Hawks keep winning with no AL Horford… So what’s different with these Hawks versus the Hawks with Al Horford in the lineup?

It’s plain and simple… Larry Drew doesn’t have his guys playing completely out of position as he has over the past year. Coach Drew has decided to start ZaZa or Jason Collins at the center position granted they may not be the league’s best centers but that is their rightful position versus playing Horford who’s obviously a power forward.

Tomorrow the Hawks resume their 5 game road trip versus the San Antonio Spurs followed by trips to Detroit, New Orleans, and Toronto.

Rob Calloway can be reached at robert.calloway@cbsradio.com. Follow him on Twitter at @robcalloway3

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